Sample Free Trip to Hawaii

Here is an example of setting a travel goal and planning a route to get there.

Let’s assume you wanted to book a trip for two to Hawaii by summer of 2014. Let’s also assume you have monthly personal expenses of $1,000 per month in gas, groceries, cable/satellite, car insurance, dining, and any other charges that can be paid with a credit card.

We’ll take you through one possible route to earn the points for your flight, hotel, and car rental.

Airfare

Using the Citibank AA two browser trick you can apply for 2 Citibank cards each, netting 100,000 AmericanAirlines miles after approx. $7500 in minimum spend.

It will take only 35,000 AA miles per person for a round trip on a Saver Fare, totaling 70,000 miles for both tickets. This leaves at least 30,000 miles in your account. (Technically at least 37,500 if you factor the miles you earned for your minimum spend.)

Hotel

Apply for two SPG Amex cards(once under your name and once under your spouse’s name OR apply for both the personal and business cards.)

These cards provide 25,000 SPG points per card after $5,000 in spend in 6 months. You will net a minimum of 60,000 points if you factor in the points earned for your spending.

Using SPG points, you can stay at the Maui Westin or Sheraton for 12,000 to 16,000 points per night. Leveraging their fifth night free you can stay for 5 nights for as low as 48,000 points.

Car Rental

Now for car rental, remember the left over miles from the AA bonuses above? You can use those for a car rental via the AA Car and Hotel Award redemption option. A 6-day economy car can be had for approx. 27,000 miles.

NOTE: Car rental is technically not the best use of your miles, but it is FREE. Not every redemption has to be as amazing rates of redemption. At the end of the day, the best use of your miles is what best fits your travel goals.

Summary

There you have it. Trip for 2 to Hawaii possibly around summer of 2014. Four credit card applications and $17,500 minimum spend on items you buy anyway and this trip could be yours for FREE!

Have a destination in mind? Let us know and we’ll help you identify a strategy to get you there!

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